It is with great pleasure that The Second Disc can divulge a few more details on the forthcoming Bon Jovi reissues due on May 11 from Island Records and Universal Music Enterprises. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time any of this information is coming out - something of an exclusive!
Some of these details are more on the technical side, but anyone wondering for more Bon Jovi tidbits (including how much of the promised live content is unreleased) will be in for a nice surprise. Find it all after the jump.
So it turns out that all the live content featured on these ten reissues - everything from 1984's self-titled debut album to 2007's Lost Highway - is, to the best of Universal's crack team of researchers, previously unreleased. The tracks were mixed by longtime Bon Jovi engineer Obie O'Brien, who pored through tapes and tapes to provide the best takes from each respective tour the band went on, from their early days in Japan to a special live take of "Who Says You Can't Go Home" in Tampa with Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles.
The initially reported tracklists are correct save for one eleventh-hour replacement - the New Jersey reissue will have live versions of "Blood on Blood" and "Born to Be My Baby" (the latter track was initially "I'll Be There for You").
Also, as previously reported, each disc is going to feature unlockable bonus content focused not only on the original albums and their impact (extra, downloadable tracks may be part of the set) but Bon Jovi's ongoing The Circle Tour, now passing through the United States with a European leg forthcoming (not to mention four shows at the new Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey).
Finally, a note on producing (and the source of this info). The producer behind these reissues is a name that will no doubt be familiar to catalogue fans, but a bit of a surprise genre-wise. It's none other than Harry Weinger, UMe's longtime mastermind behind reissues for James Brown, Motown, Verve and others. With any luck, his attentiveness to those aforementioned discographies will suit Bon Jovi's recorded legacy well.*
Weinger added that a formal release is forthcoming, but I am pleased to share a small smattering of details with you, wonderful readers of The Second Disc.
* As always, a permanent disclosure: in 2009 I was lucky enough to intern with Universal Music Group, and my duties took me under Weinger's direct supervision. While I (regrettably) no longer work in any capacity with the label (even unpaid intern work), I am pleased to remain in contact with Harry and thank him for enabling me to keep readers up to speed.
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